When I built my first HTML website from scratch, I followed a tutorial written by a self taught web developer.  Since then I’ve found great open source documentation on programming and coding that are written by independent developers.  I am learning Ruby, Python, HTML, PHP and CSS all from tricks and tutorials I pick up around the internet.  I have no formal education in Photoshop, but I create flyers and websites based off of picking apart other people’s work and adapting it to my own. 

My way now seems kind of backward compared to Code School.  Code School helps you learn how to do something through a system of reinforcement, almost like a game.  If you’re interested in taking your web presence to another level, check out how it works.

Learn by Doing with Code School

The one thing I got right after all this time was trying out new things and looking for new projects.  I picked up Wordpress because I switched from Livejournal and got bored with the layout of my page.  At first I knew nothing, but once I resolved to tinker with every piece of the page, I found myself learning more about how design and code worked.

Code School shoves you right into the mix, and allows those developing the tutorials to turn some cash out of the deal.  You don’t take tests, you complete challenges.  You don’t get a diploma, you earn achievements that mark your progress. 

“We are the Nintendo generation,” a course video proclaims, “give us the damn joystick!”

Such is the course for learning in Code School tutorials.  Watch, complete challenge, immediate feedback, proceed to the next level.

Rails for Zombies

Rails for Zombies was my first introduction to a Code School hosted tutorial.  The basic premise is that learning rails should be something fun, and the polar opposite of challenging.  You shouldn’t feel overwhelmed, and that’s really important.  Instead, you should feel a bit like the badass movie hero with the shotgun in a room full of easy to kill slow moving zombies. 

Starting with the basics, you’ll be building a kind of Twitter for the zombie apocalypse.  It’s a fun twist on a relatively basic application, but the structure of the “game” is what is likely to keep you going.  The program will teach you Ruby on Rails 3.0.  You’ll unlock each “level” only after you’ve completed the previous one (sorry, no cheat codes available).  When you get to the end, the developers have included a neat ending video that wraps up your tour through web application building.

Final Thoughts

Code School is just one of many learning repositories and all of them are only as good as your application of that knowledge.  How you learn, however, does factor in to your willingness to pick up new things.  I do agree that learning should be simple, and it’s nice to follow a tutorial to completion and actually build something that is whole.  The measure of success for any Code School tutorial is whether you finish the tutorial.  Are you up for the challenge?

In case you're already 1337, you might be interested to know that Ruby on Rails 3.2 has just recently been released.